Bill storage compartments of typical currency cassettes in automatic transaction machines include a platform, such as a pressure plate, to support a stack of bills. The pressure plate, along with any previously stacked bills, may be moved to stack newly received bills. As the number of bills in the stack increases, any slight variation between the plane of the pressure plate and the plane of the stacked bills during movement due to stacking may cause the stack to buckle. If the stack buckles, the currency cassette may be unable to accept any more bills for storage and thus the automatic transaction machine may require servicing. It is therefore important to minimize the variation between the plane of the pressure plate with respect to the plane of the stacked bills while stacking newly received bills. It is also important to maximize the space in the bill storage compartment of a currency cassette that is available for storing currency.
Pressure plate assemblies typically use one or more springs to bias the pressure plate in a certain direction. In a conventional assembly, the pressure plate uses a pin on each longitudinal edge, which fits into a slot of the storage compartment, to guide the pressure plate along the slot while newly received bills are stacked. Other pressure plate assemblies use a cantilever plate that is connected to a sleeve bearing that moves along a post to guide the pressure plate in order to stack newly received bills. Alternatively, a scissor mechanism coupled beneath the pressure plate may be used to move the pressure plate while stacking newly received bills.
A device and method to store currency in a currency cassette in a stable and space-efficient manner is needed.